Ideas for conducting an assembly in school

Written by margaret kay

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Guest speakers contribute knowledge and experience to an assembly. (and then he said... image by Jake Hellbach from Fotolia.com)

Effective school assemblies must be entertaining and engaging yet still send a particular message to the student audience. Conducting a school assembly requires organisation, creativity and the use of relevant resources. School assembly conductors should not only rely on themselves to carry the event. Instead, they should put together a team of various assembly participants.

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Stick to a Theme

Refer to the general theme for the assembly throughout the event so students are sure to hear its messages. The theme should be relevant to the general school curriculum, a particular school event, a season or a holiday. Some possible themes include school spirit, respecting diversity and Veterans Day. Ask yourself what you want the students to take away from the assembly. For example, a possible topic within the respecting diversity theme is bullying. One message you may want students to take away is the topic is the damaging effects of bullying.

Hire Entertainment

Hire entertainment that suits the theme and the specific topics within that theme. Possible entertainment options are magicians, comedians, dance groups, exotic animal experts, music groups and circus performers. Fit the theme of the assembly into the entertainment by explaining the relevance to the student audience. For example, explain how a particular dance group represents the theme of beauty in diversity. Make sure the entertainment is age-appropriate for all members of the viewing student body. For example, if you hire a comedian as part of an anti-bullying assembly, advise him not to use inappropriate language.

Invite Guest Speakers

Guest speakers can add knowledge and real-world experience on a particular topic in an assembly. Invite members of the local community to contribute their life experiences and expertise to provide greater understanding of the assembly's theme. Speakers can inspire and motivate students to take action toward improving themselves, their local communities and the greater global community. For example, at a school pep assembly, invite a successful alumni to discuss how her experiences at the school made her the person she is today.

Involve the Students

Invite students and groups of students to participate in the assembly as part of the entertainment, as speakers, and by engaging them as audience members. Ask the school choir to perform a relevant musical number. If a particular student has had an experience that relates to the assembly's theme, invite him to speak about it. Certain messages are more powerful when spoken by a peer since students can better relate to that person and may know them on a personal level. Get the audience involved by asking to "see a show of hands" in response to certain questions or by holding the microphone up and asking them to shout the response in unison.